The mysterious Willy Wonka is opening his Chocolate Factory for just one day, and for Charlie Bucket it promises to be a mouth-watering chance to feast his eyes on sweets beyond his wildest imagination. Academy Award®-winning film and theatre director Sam Mendes will bring Roald Dahl's much-loved classic to life in this world premiere stage production.

Tickets will go on sale to the public in October 2012.

Written by Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was first published in 1964 in the US and in the UK in 1967. The book has been adapted into two major motion pictures: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in 1971 and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005.

Sam Mendes' work directing theatre and film spans 25 years. In 1992, he founded the Donmar Warehouse. Among his many lauded productions are Glengarry Glen Ross, Cabaret, The Blue Room, The Front Page, Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night. Several of the productions transferred to Broadway where he had a huge success with Cabaret (which won four Tony Awards® including Best Musical), Gypsy, The Blue Room and the world premiere of David Hare's The Vertical Hour. More recently he was involved in a joint venture between The Old Vic and BAM in New York, The Bridge Project, for which he directed several acclaimed productions including The Tempest, The Cherry Orchard, A Winter's Tale and Richard III starring Kevin Spacey. American Beauty in 1999 was his first film, it won five Academy Awards® including Best Director and Best Picture, and six BAFTAs. Since then, he has directed four further films; Road To Perdition, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road and Away We Go – which garnered 10 Academy Award® nominations between them. His enormous contribution to cinema and theatre saw him awarded a CBE in 2000 and A Director's Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. He has been directing the 23rd James Bond film, Skyfall, which will be released in October 2012.

Marc Shaiman (Music and Lyrics) composed the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the musical Hairspray with Scott Wittman. For their score, the pair won the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Awards. They teamed up again for Broadway's Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me and Catch Me If You Can, for which Marc was a Tony Award® nominee for his orchestrations. They recently worked on A New Television series for NBC, Smash. Marc is a five-time Academy Award® nominee for his scores and songs for the films Sleepless in Seattle, The First Wives Club, Patch Adams, The American President and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Marc's additional film credits include; When Harry Met Sally, Beaches, Misery, City Slickers, The Addams Family, A Few Good Men, Sister Act, George of the Jungle and The Bucket List. Marc received an Emmy Award for co-writing Billy Crystal's medleys for The Academy Awards®. He was also Emmy-nominated for writing on Saturday Night Live (the Sweeney Sisters). His arrangements for Harry Connick Jr. brought him two Grammy nominations, as did the Hairspray soundtrack. As her music director and co-producer, Marc brought his long-time partner Bette Midler the Grammy winning songs "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "From A Distance". But it is their collaboration on her Emmy Award-winning performance for Johnny Carson's penultimate Tonight Show that will always remain a highlight.

Scott Wittman (Music and Lyrics)'s credits include directing and co-writing Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me on Broadway and on tour. Scott has created and directed two Broadway shows, three recordings, and two sold-out Carnegie Hall concerts for Patti LuPone. On television he has conceived and directed performances for Nathan Lane and Sarah Jessica Parker. He has co-written Neil Patrick Harris' musical numbers for The Academy Awards® (Emmy Nomination), The Emmy's, and the Emmy winning Tony Awards®. He has also co-created Christine Ebersole's successful nightclub appearances. He has received the Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Evening Standard and Olivier Award for his work as co-lyricist on Hairspray. On Broadway, he was the co-lyricist for the Tony Award® nominated musical Catch Me If You Can. He recently worked on the new NBC television series, Smash.